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Dihydrogen Monoxide Research at the Australian National Uni

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 1:55 am
by ozonejunkie
I was bored tonight, and decided to go for a wander with the camera (and tripod :P). Uni isn't for study is it?

Image
(Click Me for SUPERSIZE! ~500k)

These three images are all various locations around the campus. Comments & Criticism welcomed as always. :D

In regard to the framing, how did I go? This is very much my 1st attempt at attempting to frame images. I need all the help i can get. :)

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 2:21 am
by Onyx
These dihydrogen monoxide features seems to have a cold industrial type design to them, and yet judging by the sickly orange glow, I'm guessing the campus is lit up by sodium vapour lamps which are sorta warm - it certainly comes thru as warm in these pics. Also the slow shutter accentuates the flowing and soothing aspect, which is kinda a contrast against the sharp edgy fountains. As they say, the greatest drama is based on conflict - and there's certain conflicting elements to these pics, so I'd say they make for good drama.

And then there's the framing - while the frames are symmetrical, the images depicted aren't, so to my eyes there isn't a sort of 'balance' to them.

Summing up in my unartistic opinion, it's very dramatic.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 7:47 am
by Sheetshooter
Ozone,

I take it that in speaking of the 'framing' you mean arranging the pictures as a triptych. Looking at the group as a whole I find that the pic at the right does not fit with the other two when placed at the end like that whereas the left image and the centre image work wonderfully in concert with each other - the colour of them is in harmony and the lines of the masonry seem to continue from one frame to the next which is strongly unifying. What is also worthy of note, I feel, is that while the centre shot is a cracker and would work alone the shot at the left is a pretty lousy stand-alone piece but really acquires merit when juxtaposed with the centre image. The right hand image is another that is a stand-alone stunna but as an alement in the triptych it clashes with the other two on a number of grounds. It is curves and arcs and a marvelous triangle of well-captured water and all set in a greenish hue. Its partners are generally orange (on my monitor) and comprised of rectangles. Such structural contrast in the image means that the group works more like a series of pictures in a magazine layout than as a cohesive whole as we expect in a triptych.

I have no problem with the colour casts. If anything they add to the fantasy or other-worldly experience of the somnambulist. A corrected and colour balanced representation would be much more simply a record than the invitation to dream that these shots represent.

Thanks for sharing these with us and keep up the flow!

Cheers,

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 10:14 am
by ozonejunkie
Hmmmm, OK.

I can certainly see the point re: the colour cast. The first 2 images (from the LHS) were taken under Sodium Vapour lighting, whilst in the 3rd image, the lighting comes from a fluoroscent glow.

Do you feel that the third image would fit in more, if the WB was changed for a more orange hue?

I have corrected the colour balance already a hideous amount, the originals were nearly monochromatic with only orange and "other" colours.

And it's called a triptych. Looks like UNI is for learning after all. :D

Tristan

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 10:23 am
by gstark
ozonejunkie wrote:Do you feel that the third image would fit in more, if the WB was changed for a more orange hue?


Speaking only for myself, no.

The viewpoint for that image is also very different - it seems to me to have been taaken from a much higher vantage point - as well as, as Sheetshooter noted, there's a different feel to that image because of the curves, rahter than the rectangles that occupy the first two images.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 10:26 am
by ozonejunkie
gstark wrote:
ozonejunkie wrote:Do you feel that the third image would fit in more, if the WB was changed for a more orange hue?


Speaking only for myself, no.

The viewpoint for that image is also very different - it seems to me to have been taaken from a much higher vantage point - as well as, as Sheetshooter noted, there's a different feel to that image because of the curves, rahter than the rectangles that occupy the first two images.


OK, that is what I was sort of thinking. Just wanted an expert's opinion. :P

Yes, It was taken from a relatively much higher vantage point, as the third one is only 30cm off the ground, as opposed to the couple of meters in the first two.

In order to complete the three, what would be the ideal image?

Tristan

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 10:42 am
by gstark
ozonejunkie wrote:OK, that is what I was sort of thinking. Just wanted an expert's opinion. :P


Oh shit. That excludes me.


Yes, It was taken from a relatively much higher vantage point, as the third one is only 30cm off the ground, as opposed to the couple of meters in the first two.

In order to complete the three, what would be the ideal image?


That's your call, I'm afraid. :)

What else did you shoot on the night? What else has the angles and attitude of the first two, along with a similar underlying colour basis?

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 12:08 pm
by sirhc55
I personally think the pics are very good and are demostrative of the type of pic that can be taken when bored :lol:

What confuses me is the title of the thread! Dihydrogen Monoxide is not nice and has been associated with the following:

• as an industrial solvent and coolant, in nuclear power plants,
• by the U.S. Navy in the propulsion systems of some older vessels,
• by elite athletes to improve performance,
• in the production of Styrofoam,
• in biological and chemical weapons manufacture,
• as a spray-on fire suppressant and retardant,
• in abortion clinics,
• as a major ingredient in many home-brewed bombs,
• as a byproduct of hydrocarbon combustion in furnaces and air conditioning compressor operation,
• in cult rituals,
• by the Church of Scientology on their members and their members' families (although surprisingly, many members recently have contacted DHMO.org to vehemently deny such use),
• by both the KKK and the NAACP during rallies and marches,
• by pedophiles and pornographers (for uses I'd rather not say here),
• by the clientele at a number of homosexual bath houses in New York City and San Francisco,
• historically, in Hitler's death camps in Nazi Germany, and in prisons in Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Libya, Iraq and Iran,
• in World War II prison camps in Japan, and in prisons in China, for various forms of torture,
• by the Serbian military as authorized by Slobodan Milosevic in their ethnic cleansing campaign,
• by many terrorist organizations,
• in community swimming pools to maintain chemical balance,
• by software engineers, including those producing DICOM software SDKs,
• in animal research laboratories, and
• in pesticide production and distribution

Plus it is present in many foods, including baby food.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 3:15 pm
by stubbsy
sirhc55 wrote:I personally think the pics are very good and are demostrative of the type of pic that can be taken when bored :lol:

What confuses me is the title of the thread! Dihydrogen Monoxide is not nice and has been associated with the following:

• as an industrial solvent and coolant, in nuclear power plants,
• by the U.S. Navy in the propulsion systems of some older vessels,
• by elite athletes to improve performance,
• in the production of Styrofoam,
• in biological and chemical weapons manufacture,
• as a spray-on fire suppressant and retardant,
• in abortion clinics,
• as a major ingredient in many home-brewed bombs,
• as a byproduct of hydrocarbon combustion in furnaces and air conditioning compressor operation,
• in cult rituals,
• by the Church of Scientology on their members and their members' families (although surprisingly, many members recently have contacted DHMO.org to vehemently deny such use),
• by both the KKK and the NAACP during rallies and marches,
• by pedophiles and pornographers (for uses I'd rather not say here),
• by the clientele at a number of homosexual bath houses in New York City and San Francisco,
• historically, in Hitler's death camps in Nazi Germany, and in prisons in Turkey, Serbia, Croatia, Libya, Iraq and Iran,
• in World War II prison camps in Japan, and in prisons in China, for various forms of torture,
• by the Serbian military as authorized by Slobodan Milosevic in their ethnic cleansing campaign,
• by many terrorist organizations,
• in community swimming pools to maintain chemical balance,
• by software engineers, including those producing DICOM software SDKs,
• in animal research laboratories, and
• in pesticide production and distribution

Plus it is present in many foods, including baby food.

Scary stuff Chris - just looked at http://www.dhmo.org and there's more:

* Death due to accidental inhalation of DHMO, even in small quantities.
* Prolonged exposure to solid DHMO causes severe tissue damage.
* Excessive ingestion produces a number of unpleasant though not typically life-threatening side-effects.
* DHMO is a major component of acid rain.
* Gaseous DHMO can cause severe burns.
* Contributes to soil erosion.
* Leads to corrosion and oxidation of many metals.
* Contamination of electrical systems often causes short-circuits.
* Exposure decreases effectiveness of automobile brakes.
* Found in biopsies of pre-cancerous tumors and lesions.
* Often associated with killer cyclones in the U.S. Midwest and elsewhere.
* Thermal variations in DHMO are a suspected contributor to the El Nino weather effect.

And here's me thinking it was plain old H2O :wink:

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 3:25 pm
by ozonejunkie
stubbsy wrote:And here's me thinking it was plain old H2O


Never plain. It has so much potential . . . .

Tristan

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 3:35 pm
by ozonejunkie
Here is a new attempted version. Is this any better?

Image
(Click Me for SUPERSIZE! ~100k)

I decided to play around a bit more in CS2, and used another image as the heavily blurred background. Is this OK, or too busy?

Thanks for all comments!
Tristan

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 4:23 pm
by Willy wombat
WOW your latest effort has brought them alive. Looks really good OJ. Love the framing you have used here. Im tempted to ask how you achieved this result.

Well done! PS: love title of thread.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 4:25 pm
by Willy wombat
sirhc55 wrote: Dihydrogen Monoxide is not nice and has been associated with the following:

• as a major ingredient in many home-brewed bombs,


I have used it in home brew! :lol: 8)

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:25 pm
by ozonejunkie
Willy wombat wrote: Im tempted to ask how you achieved this result.


Thanks for the praise. :D

How tempted are you to ask? What do you wish to know?

Tristan

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 6:39 pm
by Dargan
Lovely colour complementarity in the three. Dare I ask if there was a H lurking in that presentation for added significance. You should go for more walks based on this output.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 8:50 pm
by gstark
I'm one of the people from the KISS camp, and so the background is now too busy for me.

But that's just my opinion.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 8:56 pm
by Slider
That second group is a great composition.

As a stand alone shot though, the one on the right in the first set was my pick. I liked the way the lights seams to to pour down into a pool with the water. Very nice.

PostPosted: Fri Jul 29, 2005 8:57 pm
by Dargan
KISS was a pretty unsimple group from memory. Apart from that .... in this presentation there is nice balance in colours, complementary themes in the waterfall placement, bright sharp subject matter and I just love the H. A happy group of pics :D

PostPosted: Sat Jul 30, 2005 2:56 pm
by ozonejunkie
Dargan wrote: Dare I ask if there was a H lurking in that presentation for added significance. You should go for more walks based on this output.


What would be the significance of a H? I laid it out like that for symmetry. Thanks for the compliments. Weather is a bit cold for too many late night walks though . . . :D

gstark wrote:I'm one of the people from the KISS camp, and so the background is now too busy for me.


I can understand that, and it took me quite a while to actually convince myself that it worked. That is one of the reasons that I blurred the background so much.

Thanks for all the comments. :D

Tristan

PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 8:45 am
by leek
Well I was going to comment on your photos, but the links didn't work this morning...

PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:18 am
by ozonejunkie
leek wrote:Well I was going to comment on your photos, but the links didn't work this morning...


I don't know why. I have just checked the server logs, and it hasn't been down. For about 10mins prior to 7:46 the net connection to it may have been down.

So, they should be working now.

PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 10:28 am
by leek
ozonejunkie wrote:
leek wrote:Well I was going to comment on your photos, but the links didn't work this morning...


I don't know why. I have just checked the server logs, and it hasn't been down. For about 10mins prior to 7:46 the net connection to it may have been down.

So, they should be working now.


Nope sorry - I just get a time-out...

PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 11:44 am
by ozonejunkie
Try these:

Image
Clickable 98kb.

This is hosted somewhere else, I hope this works for you. :D
I have no idea why you can't get them from my web site, as they are working for me. :|
Tristan

PostPosted: Sun Jul 31, 2005 12:21 pm
by MHD
Good work mate!
I would ditch the complex background though... the Background should lead into the images not try to compete for attention...

Excellent long exposure work... The ANU campus is an absolute treasure trove for still life :D